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This research explores the experiences of self-identified queer victims of intimate partner violence, their personal encounters with violence-response organizations, and the extent to which their gender/sexual identity impacted their willingness to disclose their abuse.

Eleven respondents were recruited from online queer social networking sites and were interviewed via e-mail or Skype.

All respondents identified as gender variant or had an abusive partner who identified as gender variant. All study participants reported having experienced physical abuse. Several reported sexual and emotional abuse. Respondents reported a reluctance to seek institutional support and intervention. Several respondents were unable to recognize abuse as abuse until much later. When asked about whether or not they sought intervention, most respondents in this study described a sort of isolation, where they perceived that they were facing prejudice and stigmatization, and risked being dismissed and delegitimized. Several respondents sensed that there simply were no organizations that were sensitized and available to queer-identified victims. Even if they had pursued help from existing institutions, several respondents communicated a doubt that they could truly be of service, since these institutions likely operated with heteronormative narratives and practices. Collectively, the respondents in this study describe experiences as victims of IPV that are clearly mediated by homophobia and cissism.

We emphasize the need for an “intersectional awareness” in scholarship and organizing surrounding IPV. We critique the state’s gender-based practices of violence intervention and propose alternative possibilities for more inclusive intervention and organizing on behalf of queer victims of violence.

The body of literature that exists on IPV among LGBTQ persons is small, and much of this literature is focused on how patterns of IPV differ from heterosexual violence. In exploring IPV among self-identified queer victims, we depart from most research on IPV in that our analysis is not so much concerned with the gender or sex assignment of the victim, but rather the gendered context in which the violence is playing out.

Family is considered to be the corner stone of every society; it enhances its functionality and sustainability. However, the problem of spousal abuse has destroyed and disorganized many families in Nigeria, thereby hampering the stability of the basic institution. This study takes a look at spousal abuse as it affects the family stability as perceived in Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Three research questions and a hypothesis guided the study. Descriptive research design was used, the population of the study consisted of 200 respondents. The study combines both qualitative and quantitative methods, which involves the use of questionnaire and focus group discussion (FGD) to collect data. The study selects 200 respondents and two FGD sessions of 10 participants each (married men and women). Data generated was analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation while the hypothesis was tested using linear regression. The results of the study revealed that wife/husband battering, insults/name calling, spousal rape/sexual deprivation, economic deprivation, and food deprivation constitutes spousal abuse in Lafia, Nasarawa State; destruction of platform necessary for good and healthy upbringing of the children among others are how the problems of spousal abuse affect family stability; there is a significant relationship between what constitutes spousal abuse and causes of spousal abuse in Lafia, Nasarawa State. It was recommended that more sensitization and education to end spousal abuse should be vigorously pursued; government and non-government organizations should create avenues where women are empowered and psychological centers for rehabilitation should be established.

Woman's use of violence has been mainly conceptualised through woman's experiences of victimization. However, more recent perspectives emphasise the female agency, responsibility and meaning of woman's violence. Listening to the voices of victims of women's abuse is a powerful way of learning about woman's use of violence and its impact on the victims. We conducted focus groups with 41 men from four countries who experienced female-perpetrated abuse. Four major types of abuse were identified: psychological abuse and coercive control followed by physical violence and sexual violence. Psychological abuse ranged from verbal assaults and gaslighting to provoking physical altercations and reporting false accusations. Patterns of control included deliberate isolation, threatening false accusations and financial domination. Men reported that women initiated physical violence for various reasons, including jealousy and rage. Some women used different objects that could seriously hurt, including knife, while others slapped, bit, punched or kicked. Several men reported female-perpetrated sexual abuse. Woman's use of violence in the intimate relationship should be treated seriously. A more gender-inclusive approach to partner abuse is required that can focus on a better prevention of abuse for all victims.

In the present paper we explore the long-term influence of childhood neglect on violent behavior in the transition to adulthood. In particular, we test whether neglect is spuriously related to violence due to their common association with academic achievement, physical abuse, and general offending. We then ask whether neglect has an indirect effect on violence through its impact on parental attachment, alcohol use, emotional negativity, academic achievement, or staying in school.

We use two waves of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and employ both regression models and INDIRECT, a syntax file that allows for the testing of indirect effects using SPSS (Preacher & Hayes, 2008).

We find that the long-term association between childhood neglect and violence in the transition to adulthood is robust in models controlling for GPA, physical abuse, and other forms of offending. Neglect did not have an indirect effect on violence through attachment, negative emotionality, or academic achievement but did have indirect effects on violence through its association with staying in school and with alcohol use.

This set of analyses was exploratory in nature. Further research on neglect should be undertaken, using finely tuned measures and research questions. In addition, our findings imply that the association between neglect and later violent behavior may be intertwined with certain dynamics of physical abuse and alcohol use, which should be further studied.

In this chapter I employ a hybrid critical framework that draws on feminist media studies, feminist critiques of post-feminism, theories of intersectionality, and genre theory to consider a range of domestic violence stories on screen. The chapter begins with a summary of prototypical patterns of narrative and character in contemporary Hollywood films about abuse and subsequently explores two recent media representations that, while conforming to certain of these patterns, also introduce alternative perspectives: the 2017/2019 Home Box Office miniseries Big Little Lies and French director Xavier Legrand's 2018 film Custody (Jusqu’à la garde). I argue that both of these media texts draw on familiar genres that engage audiences not simply to generate sympathy for the abused woman-turned-heroine, but to challenge persistent myths about domestic violence such as that abusers are monsters who never show love towards their partners; that abused women are weak, passive, and the victims of their own bad judgment; that the effects and repercussions of abuse end with the departure of the abuser; that, ultimately, the problem of abuse must be “solved” by the individual; that the “solution” is as simple as leaving; and that there is little as a community or a society that we can do. I conclude that, in different ways and to different degrees, each of these media texts succeeds in making small but significant interventions into the predictable formulas of mainstream Hollywood domestic violence films through narratives that foreground the complexities, contradictions, and dilemmas of abuse.

This paper's aim is to examine the relationship between intimate partner violence, childhood abuse and psychiatric disorders among 118 female drug users in treatment in Barcelona, Spain.

Secondary analysis of a cross‐sectional study of the psychiatric, behavioural and social risk factors for HIV. DSM‐IV disorders were assessed using the Spanish Psychiatric Research Interview for Substance and Mental Disorders; the Composite Abuse Scale assessed intimate partner violence and the Child Maltreatment History Self‐Report assessed childhood physical and sexual abuse.

The odds of experiencing intimate partner violence were 2.42 times greater among those with any depressive disorder (95 per cent CI 1.13, 5.20), over three times greater for those who reported ever attempting suicide (OR 3.20; 95 per cent CI 1.29, 7.94), met criteria for borderline personality disorder (OR 3.05; 95 per cent CI 1.31, 7.11), had been abused in childhood (OR 3.38; 95 per cent CI 1.45, 7.85) or currently lived with a substance user (OR 3.74; 95 per cent CI 1.29, 10.84). In multiple logistic regression, only living with a substance user (OR 3.42; 95 per cent CI 1.08, 10.86) and a history of childhood abuse (OR 2.87; 95 per cent CI 1.05, 7.86) remained significant in the model examining intimate partner violence victimisation.

The small sample size, together with the fact that the study was not originally powered to examine differences in intimate partner violence may have increased the possibility of type II errors.

Histories of psychiatric disorders, intimate partner violence and childhood abuse are common in female substance users in treatment. Research suggests that such histories result in poorer treatment outcomes. Histories of intimate partner violence and childhood abuse should be identified and addressed in substance abuse treatment to enhance treatment outcomes.

The reality of domestic violence does not disappear when people enter the digital world, as abusers may use technology to stalk, exploit, and control their victims. In this chapter, we discuss three unique types of technological abuse: (1) financial abuse via banking websites and apps; (2) abuse via smart home devices (i.e., “Internet of Things” abuse); and (3) stalking via geo-location or GPS. We also argue pregnancy and wellness apps provide an opportunity for meaningful intervention for pregnant victims of domestic violence.

While there is no way to ensure users' safety in all situations, we argue thoughtful considerations while designing and building digital products can result in meaningful contributions to victims' safety. This chapter concludes with PenzeyMoog's (2020) “Framework for Inclusive Safety,” which is a roadmap for building technology that increases the safety of domestic violence survivors. This framework includes three key points: (1) the importance of educating technologists about domestic violence; (2) the importance of identifying possible abuse situations and designing against them; and (3) identifying user interactions that might signal abuse and offering safe interventions.

The purpose of this paper is to review the terminology used to describe family violence involving older adults in order to stimulate a discussion that may assist in the use of a more appropriate and clearer terminology.

Different definitions of terms used to describe violence are considered and the contexts in which they are used. Two cases are described to illustrate the use of overlapping terms, the assumptions that lie behind them and the different actions that they lead to.

The authors argue that legal, relational, health (physical and mental) and social perspectives are all useful and integration contributes to a fuller understanding of violence.

The importance of terminology used to describe family violence involving older adults has been neglected in the past, yet it influences understanding about violent incidents and shapes responses to them.

Technology increasingly features in intimate relationships and is used by domestic violence perpetrators to enact harm. In this chapter, we propose a theoretical and practical framework for technology-facilitated harms in heterosexual relationships which we characterize as digital coercive control. Here, we include behaviors which can be classified as abuse and stalking and also individualized tactics which are less easy to categorize, but evoke fear and restrict the freedoms of a particular woman. Drawing on their knowledge of a victim/survivor's experiences and, in the context of patterns and dynamics of abuse, digital coercive control strategies are personalized by perpetrators and extend and exacerbate “real-world” violence.

Digital coercive control is unique because of its spacelessness and the ease, speed, and identity-shielding which technology affords. Victim/survivors describe how perpetrator use of technology creates a sense of omnipresence and omnipotence which can deter women from exiting violent relationships and weakens the (already tenuous) notion that abuse can be “escaped.” We contend that the ways that digital coercive control shifts temporal and geographic boundaries warrant attention. However, spatiality more broadly cannot be overlooked. The place and shape in which victim/survivors and perpetrators reside will shape both experiences of and response to violence. In this chapter, we explore these ideas, reporting on findings from a study on digital coercive control in regional, rural, and remote Australia. We adopt a feminist research methodology in regard to our ethos, research processes, analysis, and the outputs and outcomes of our project. Women's voices are foreground in this approach and the emphasis is on how research can be used to inform, guide, and develop responses to domestic violence.